Dream, Dream, Dream
by mysticalflute
Summary: Charming isn't the only one that dreams of things lost. (Spoilers for 3x14 "The Tower")
1. Emma

She didn't dream often, so when she found herself standing in a room - a nursery, she could tell - with a tall, blonde man (was he a prince?), she found herself unable to move.

But then, someone else entered the room. It was a mirror image of herself, dressed to the nines in a poofy princess gown.

"What the hell?" she said, but neither the man nor her doppelganger paid her any bit of attention.

"I don't even know how to dance. Teach me?"

This was wrong. It sounded just like her but it wasn't her. She wasn't a princess. This wasn't her father. This wasn't her bedroom.

But… Emma was enraptured by this. She knew it was ridiculous to think that this could have been her life. She'd stopped dreaming about things like this when she'd turned sixteen and she knew that no one was coming to whisk her away to a castle.

"Emma, this is all I ever wanted for you," the man said.

"I know. This is all I ever wanted too…"

Emma watched in delight as the man swung her doppelganger around the room, dancing in the fairytale-esque fashion she'd thought was ridiculous years ago. It might have been fake, but she loved it. It was like giving her a small bit of hope that her life would improve (not that she hated her life – she did have a son that she adored with all her heart). That there was something more out there for her to see.

"But I'm not really here. I was _never_ here."

Emma's heart sank. Why did this dream have to become a nightmare? She wanted to stay in this nursery and watch this dream play out. This man, "_daddy_" her doppelganger had called him, was better than any dream she'd had of her father in years. She didn't want this to be a nightmare.

If she was being honest… she wanted it to be the truth.

The room turned dark, the other-Emma standing there with sadness on her face.

"NO!" Emma cried, watch as what she could only describe as a portal opened, nearly swallowing the other-Emma into it.

"Emma! I'll protect you! I'll save you!" the man cried, holding on tight to her.

Emma felt like he was speaking to her and not just to this dream-version of herself. Tears sprang to her eyes. She wanted to believe that someone other than Henry was fighting for her.

"It's too late! You failed me!"

The devastated look on the man's face had Emma's heart breaking. Something had happened – and Emma wanted to know what. Did she know this man? Was that… other Emma another version of herself that had somehow been lost?

Why did it feel so familiar if it was just a dream?

"Don't fail the next one…"

Next one?

"Goodbye daddy…" With another cry, her doppelganger was swallowed and Emma felt herself choking back sobs as "Charley's Girl" suddenly began to fill the room, the scene of a devastated father fading.

As she pulled herself from her bed, Emma knew that this was one dream she would not soon forget.


	2. Henry

The room was on fire. In a way, it reminded him of when he'd gotten home from school to see the apartment he'd lived in had burned down. Only he hadn't been in the building, while now, he was in the middle of a burning room.

"HELP!" he shouted. "SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

He had no idea if anyone was here, if anyone could hear him.

He hadn't had a nightmare in months, so he supposed he was due for one.

"H-Henry?!"

Someone _was_ here! But how did they know his name?

"Can you see me?!" he called out. "Where are you?!"

"I'm over here! I'll come to you… just stay there Henry!" the woman called back.

His name again. He wondered how in the world the woman could have known that.

She appeared before him suddenly, the flames moving out of her way, like she could control them. Henry shivered, but was glad that some of them were away from him. Taking in the woman's appearance, he noticed that she was dressed in a beautiful white gown, with long ebony hair, and red lips.

Just like…

"Snow White?"

She stared at him and smiled. "Yes… I'm Snow White. How did you know that?" she whispered, looking as if she'd known him for years.

"You look like her. Well, the way the books describe her anyway. Dark hair, reddish lips, a dress that looks like something out of a movie… only difference is your hair's a lot shorter in the movie I've seen."

When she didn't look confused as to what a 'movie' was, Henry had a feeling this wasn't an ordinary dream.

Instead, she laughed quietly. "Yes, I suppose that's right. The story in that movie is… vastly different from the truth. Really I think the only things that are the same is my hair color, the poisoned apple, and my stepmother being the reason I ate the apple to begin with."

Henry stared at her. This sounded interesting.

But first… there was something bothering him.

"How did you know my name?" the boy asked.

The question seemed to cause a reaction in the woman, and Henry knew something was up at that moment.

"It's a long story, Henry," she said softly. "A very, very long story."

"Is this just a dream?" he asked. "And don't lie to me. I have a thing with lies."

Snow White laughed a little, before her face became somber again. "No Henry. This isn't a dream. Well, not really. You're really asleep and this is really in your head but… as far as this conversation it isn't something your subconscious has made up or anything."

"But how? You're a fairytale. You can't be real…"

He was too old to believe in these things, wasn't he? But this felt so real, and though he'd felt something like this before in his dreams, even this felt different.

"Anything is possible, Henry," she said softly. "You must always believe that."

"So if this is real… if you're real… how do you know me?" he asked, swallowing tight. He wanted to believe more than anything that this was real – because if it was that was the best thing to ever happen in his life – to have one of his mother's favorite fairy tale characters be real – she needed it after the life she had. Maybe Snow White could help his mother out, make her be happier, like her movie was.

"I'm - "

But before she could answer, he faded away.

Henry took a deep breath as he opened and rubbed at his eyes, finding himself back in his bedroom, hearing "Charley's Girl" muffled from his mother's room next door.

"Henry! Hurry up and get dressed! I need to drop you off early today!"

"Okay Mom!" he called back as he made his way to where he'd set out his clothes the night before. As he changed, Henry couldn't shake the feeling that the dream he'd had was real – and he hoped he would see Snow White again.


	3. Daybreak

_(A/N: This chapter is not a dream!)_

* * *

"REGINA!"

The former queen could hear the yell far before she heard the rapid footsteps or the breathlessness of her (former?) stepdaughter's voice.

Calmly, the woman set the book she'd been reading on her vanity. "What is it, Snow?"

"I saw Henry last night."

The mention of her son's name had the woman leaping from her seat. She of course dreamed of Henry, but Snow went into that… that land of fire, just like Henry had what seemed like a lifetime ago.

Snow had a better chance to actually _talk_ to him.

"You… you're sure it wasn't a dream? It was actually Henry?" she asked. She needed to be sure.

"Of course I'm sure Regina. I could never, ever forget a moment in that room. He was scared again – he doesn't remember ever being in that room. I had to help him…"

"Right… right… he doesn't remember."

She stood silently for a moment, before looking at her stepdaughter again. "How is he, otherwise?"

"I didn't get to speak with him long, but from what I could tell he's happy and healthy. He also… has trouble believing in fairytales."

That revelation had Regina's heart sinking. Though she had tried to keep her identity a secret from him in the beginning, she knew how excited he'd been when it was revealed (though not in the way Regina had ever would have wanted it) that he was indeed the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming – a prince in his own right.

"Did you tell him about us? About his family?" she asked.

"I started to, but he woke up. I told him the only thing I could – that anything is possible. With any luck, that will be enough for him to start thinking that something is amiss in his life."

Regina sighed. "If he doesn't remember who we are, how can he believe?"

"I said his name. I told him that belief isn't something to let go of. I knew what a movie was. If he still doesn't belief after even all that then you did a bigger number on him than you thought you did," Snow told her. "But it isn't enough for him to believe, Regina. You have to believe too."

"I don't know how… when you were cursed… how did you keep up your belief and your hope?" she asked. It had been something that bothered her for months before the curse actually broke. She'd tried to break Snow's spirit and yet somehow, despite the things she'd done – Kathryn, framing Snow for the murder, the incident with the car – Snow had, somehow, managed to get through it.

"Would you like me to try to teach you, Regina?" her stepdaughter offered.

Regina looked at her in surprise. She would really do that? Even after everything?

"Yes…" she admitted. "I - I think I would like that very much."

The look on her stepdaughter's face was a cross between the excited little girl Regina remembered rescuing and the little boy she had to let go of in the Land Without Magic.


	4. Snow

She was back in the nursery.

Swallowing tight, Emma looked around again. She was alone this time, so she could focus on the room itself. A purple and white blanket lay draped over the crib, and her eyes widened as she realized what it was.

Her blanket.

The baby blanket she'd been found in after she'd been born.

But... how was it here?

Slowly, as if the place was rigged to a bomb, Emma made her way to the crib, lifting the soft blanket into her hands. If this place was representing something, she wanted to know what, and why her blanket was here.

Suddenly, she felt a jerking reaction, and she found herself in another room, the vision slightly fuzzy as an ebony-haired woman lay on a bed, screaming in agony as she gave birth.

The blanket that was clutched in her hand lay at the end of the bed, awaiting the baby that would soon make her debut.

Emma watched as it was cleaned, and the parents – the father being the same man from the other night – held her close.

"Get the baby to the wardrobe…" the woman murmured.

"Snow, are you insane?"

_Snow._

She could hear the sobs of the woman – her mother? – as she was suddenly moved elsewhere. Emma watched, horrified as she, following the man as he fought his way through a group of guards dressed in black, with gaudy feathered helmets on their heads. Emma gasped in terror as a sword tore across the man's shoulder, just barely missing the baby in his arms, blissfully unaware of what was going on.

The baby – _her_ – was placed in the wardrobe, the man kissing her forehead before the door closed, a flash of light the only indication something had happened.

As the man fell unconscious (he must have been okay though, right? Because she'd seen a grown-up version of herself dancing with him just a week ago), one of the guards opened the door…

And the baby was gone.

Emma stumbled back, dropping the blanket as the room went back to normal. She stood in the nursery, shaking.

What the _hell_ was that?

"We failed you," a voice said from behind her.

Emma froze. It was the woman from the vision – Snow White.

The woman that appeared to be her… her _mother_.

"We should have been able to go together, as a family, and yet you were on your own."

Family…

Slowly, Emma turned around, looking at the woman, before shaking her head. "You didn't fail me. I don't know what's going on… who you are or what this is… but I watched you give birth to… to _me_, I guess – and I saw the love in your eyes, and the pain in them when you gave me up. It's the love any good parent has for their child… so… i-if you are my mother… you didn't fail me. Even if we… we weren't together."

Her eyes went wide. "You don't know who I am, and yet you believe I didn't fail you? Why?"

It seemed like he knew that most of the time, she would believe that her parents gave up on her and abandoned her like a piece of trash but there was something about this man that she couldn't understand. Maybe it was her inner child, locked away for so many years, finally having a chance to see what it would be like to be a princess. Maybe it was because she nearly gave up her own child, so she could see the mindset of parents that gave up theirs.

Or maybe it was because there was something else going on.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But there's… there's something about you that's familiar…"

She eyed the woman's stomach, a slight baby bump clear through the dress.

The woman smiled a little, and Emma couldn't help but feel warmed by it. "Familiar? Really? I'm so glad to hear that Emma…"

"Wait, you know my name? So did… the man…"

"Man?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah… I-I didn't catch his name but he was a prince… dancing with like this… princess version of me. But I'm no princess."

"Your father. And don't say that."

"So he… he _is_ my father?" Her heart pounded in her chest at that news, ignoring the woman's other words for the moment. "And that makes you my… my mother? B-but how?"

"It's a long story… but just know, Emma, that we love you both so very, very much…"

"You don't know me," she said, trying to be defiant. She wanted to believe that this was impossible, that her subconscious had made this version of Snow White after too many times of watching the real thing and nitpicking nearly everything about the character.

The only problem was, there was something too real about this Snow White.

"I do know you. And I know Henry. He had a nightmare a week ago. I had to help him calm down," Snow White replied.

Emma frowned. "What?"

She hadn't heard anything about that.

"Ask him about it… but for now I'm afraid we must part again Emma," Snow White said, smiling, though Emma could tell she was only trying to stay strong – there was a hidden pain in her eyes.

"I don't want to leave you…" she whispered.

"Emma you must believe that we will see each other again. That we will all be a family again. Promise me…"

A sob escaped her. "I-I'll try… I-I promise you…"

It was the least she could do. After so many years of being bitter and angry at the world, to see something like that, even if this was just a dream, it was a damn good lesson to make a change, to believe that anything was possible.

And it was with reluctance that Emma woke up.


	5. Revelations

Emma nervously stirred the pan of eggs on the stove as she heard Henry stepping into the room. She knew she had to confront him about that bizarre dream she'd had the night before… the one where the woman told her that her son had a nightmare – with the same woman in it.

"Mom, everything okay?" her son asked, looking at her in concern. "You look worried about something."

"Henry…" she said slowly, cutting the heat as the eggs finished cooking. "Have you been sleeping okay? Any… nightmares you want to tell me about?"

It was subtle, but she saw something flash in her son's gaze. "No, of course not," he said, laughing nervously. "I haven't had a nightmare in years, Mom."

"Are you sure?"

Another nervous fidget and Emma knew she had him.

"Maybe there was something…" he eventually muttered.

She nodded. "Uh-huh. Did it involve a room full of fire?" she asked.

He stared at her like she'd lost her mind.

"How… did you know that?" he asked.

Emma swallowed tight, avoiding his gaze as she plated his breakfast. "I had a dream last night too. Not like that one but there was a woman there – a princess. She said she knew you."

"Snow White? You dreamed about Snow White too?" he asked.

Emma nodded slowly, sitting at the table with him. "I did. She said she was my… my mother. I don't know how it's possible but I saw it Henry. I saw my birth… my blanket was there, in the nursery."

Henry stared at her.

"I know it sounds crazy but… for the past few weeks I've been feeling like something was off with our life, y'know? Like there was something missing."

Henry frowned before grinning a little. "So if you're Snow White's daughter, that makes me a prince, right?"

She blinked before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I guess regardless of who your father is it does."

Henry suddenly leaped from his chair, holding his fork out like a weapon. "Then let's have a sword fight!" he declared. "Come on, unless you're chicken."

Emma couldn't help but chuckle before she grabbed her own. "Bring it on."

* * *

"You'll have forty-eight hours to convince them to come back, do you understand me?" the woman asked, looking at her two volunteers. "If you fail, you'll be back without them and we'll have no other options."

The two men in front of her nodded.

Letting out a sigh, she nodded slowly, handing them the small trinkets she'd managed to make into portable portals to the Land Without Magic. It was the only thing they could do without casting a full curse.

"Let's hurry," one said, looking at his companion. "We don't have any time to waste."

His companion nodded, and the two men left the room, leaving the woman alone again, letting out a sigh as she looked out the large tower window.

The Wicked Witch could not win, and the price of her bringing back Emma and Henry was the last time she'd ever be able to use her magic.

Emma was their only hope.


	6. Memories

"I'm never gonna stop fighting for you. Ever."

Emma frowned as she was suddenly in a random jungle.

With Neal.

While Emma and Neal had traveled around a bit, they never went to a jungle. She wasn't even sure if such places existed in the United States, but she doubted it because it seemed way too tropical for even a state like Florida.

"If Henry is the only good thing that came from us being together, I say we did alright."

That was clearly her, and her recently, because she no longer wore glasses, nor did she wear too frilly of shirts anymore. Plus, despite the sweat and exhaustion on her own face, Emma could tell that this… version of her, looked a little healthier than she had when she was eighteen.

But Emma didn't remember any of this. She hadn't seen Neal since that day in Portland – and this was very obviously as far from Portland as it could get.

Her dream-self smiled at Neal.

"Yeah."

Neal didn't know about Henry though. This wasn't possible.

"Now let's go get our son back."

Wait what? Where was Henry?

Emma blinked a little as the scene faded, and she woke to a loud knock on the door.

"MOM! We have a visitor!" Henry shouted from the living room. It was a Saturday, and while she normally woke before him, she'd been out late on a case the night before.

Emma pulled herself from her bed and made her way to the door, opening it slowly.

Neal.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Emma I need your help," he said softly. "Something's happened."

"My help? You want me to help you after all this time? After you abandoned me and let me go to prison?" she asked, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her. She didn't want Henry to be exposed to this.

"It's not just me. It's your parents. Your family."

She froze. He didn't know her parents – did he? How could he? They were only together for a few months before it all fell apart.

"Humor me. Who are my parents then?"

"Snow White and Prince Charming."

She stumbled back against the door, staring at him. How could he possibly know that? Unless he was just bluffing – saying the first thing that came into his head.

But no. She knew Neal. She knew how bitter and jaded he was from his own past issues – he wouldn't say something like that unless it was true.

"How? How do you know that?"

"They sent me. They told me about the dreams you and Henry have been having about them. So I was sent here to come get you guys. To bring you both home."

"Home? _This_ is our home, Neal. I have a job, Henry has school, friends…"

"I know that. But something terrible has happened. Your parents are in danger."

Emma blinked, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. She didn't want anything to happen to those people in her dream. But how could she believe Neal, after everything? How could she believe that she was the daughter of fairytale characters, with or without Neal being there? Regardless of who was telling her this, it was too crazy to believe.

On the other hand… she really wanted the people in her dream to be safe.

"How can I trust you?" she asked. "After everything?"

"You can't, Emma. But I know you… and I can tell that you care about these people. So if you're going to believe, don't believe me, but believe your dreams."

She exhaled sharply. "Okay. If this is true. If I'm… the daughter of these fairytale characters… and if you know about Henry, why don't we remember any of it?"

"There was a curse that separated us. You and Henry forgot about all of us. Do you remember driving through Maine?"

Emma's eyes widened. She remembered that – about a year ago she and Henry had taken a long drive up through the Eastern seaboard, just for fun. A trip Labor Day weekend, before he started school again.

It explained why she'd felt like they'd been in a town, when there was nothing behind them. She'd thought it was a longing to get back to New York, but it seemed not.

"How can we remember?"

"Take this."

Neal held out a blue vial, not something Emma had ever seen before. Shakily, she took it, opening it, and swallowing what was inside.

She stumbled back against the door, her mind swirling with images.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Neal, the feelings settling. She didn't hate him as much as she had, now that she knew the truth of what had happened and why.

"Neal?"

"Emma?"

She pulled him into a hug, relieved. She remembered.


End file.
